Poll: Floridians Support Stand Your Ground Law by Wide Margin

Florida voters support the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law by a tally of 56 to 36 percent, according to a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.

The law authorizes force in cases of self-defense and became big news last year after the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin in the Orlando suburb of Sanford.

The survey numbers were little changed from last June, when 56 percent supported the law and 37 percent opposed it.

As for now, men in Florida favor the law by a count of 62 to 32 percent, while women back it 51 to 40 percent.

When it comes to political parties, Republicans support the law 78 to 15 percent, independents back it 62 to 30 percent, and Democrats oppose it 58 to 36 percent.

By race, whites support the law 62 to 31 percent, blacks oppose it 62 to 26 percent, and Hispanics favor it 47 to 42 percent.

The poll, of 1,000 registered voters, was taken a little over a year after Martin, a 17-year-old black student, was shot and killed by white neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who claimed he was acting in self-defense. The case sparked a racially tinged national debate over the use of Stand Your Ground.

Zimmerman’s trial, on a charge of second-degree murder, is due to start in June.